Civilization discovered by Take Two

We learnt some months ago that a new publisher had acquired the rights to the classic Civilization series from Atari, Take Two announcing today a new multi-title deal with Sid Meier's own Firaxis studio too. The unveilment of this news continues a busy week for the GTA publisher, who recently acquired an MLB licence, a sports developer from Sega, and even found time to launch a new publishing sub-label. The PLC's new brand - 2K Games - will be publishing Civilization IV for the PC at the end of 2005, and Take Two will also be taking care of any expansions or re-releases of past Civ's.

Several new games are covered by the Firaxis-Take Two deal, and the official press release includes the promise of new game announcements in the future. New console games were mooted, as well as the predictable PC offerings. Atari sold the Civ rights for some $22 million back in September 2004, though the purchaser remained anonymous until today. The latest Civ will be the resplendent in true 3D, with fans of the series expecting much from Meier's return to his origins. The series has sold five million copies to date. Take Two are pleased. Nuff' said.